Today we received our identity cards. We are very excited that we no longer have to carry our passports with us at all times.
We have been here now for two months in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert. We have each had about 40 hours of French classroom instruction and between 40 - 80 hours of French homework and study. We have met people in their homes, had picnics in the park, and had spiritual conversations with fellow language students. We are continuing to get to know our city by using the public transportation system.
I have decided to try to buy a folding bicycle to make getting around the city easier. There were four bicycle stores that I had researched on the internet that I wanted to visit. We plotted the stores on Google maps and threw in a castle that we have been wanting to tour. The route came out to be a beautiful little oval. Google maps said we could walk the entire route in 3 hours and 30 minutes. Having decided which order our stops would be, and with the addresses all entered into the GPS, we headed off to the Metro. When we came out of the Metro and headed to the tram stop for the next part of the trip, we found the tram was just pulling away from the stop as we dashed across the busy street against a red light. Looking at the schedule, we decided to head off walking since the next tram was not due for another 15 minutes. We were almost to the first bicycle shop when the tram passed us. When we came out of the shop we got on the next tram to continue to our next destination. Now some trams have screens on them, displaying what stop is coming up next. This was an older tram that did not. The tram was very crowded, and since I am very tall I could not see out the windows to try to read the signs on the tram stops as we passed by. The GPS was helping to let me know where we were, but after we had been on the tram for a few minutes, it lost its position through the metal roof. Finally, after Elizabeth squeezed by a few people to look at a map on the tram wall, we decided we should get off the tram. When we started looking at the map at the tram stop, we discovered we had gone several stops past where we needed to be. So we crossed the street and waited several minutes for the next tram to take us back in the direction we had just come. This got us close to our next shop but by now, we desperately needed to find a restroom and since it was past lunch time we stopped at a little Greek cafe for some salad (and the restroom). We ended up cutting our shopping trip short, only visiting 2 of the 4 shops, and deciding to leave the castle for another day. After another tram ride we made it to a Metro stop which took us back home - exhausted.
Even though we are living in an environment that is very foreign to two people who grew up in rural areas and have lived most of our married life in suburban areas, we are learning to get around the city with public transportation. We find it all worthwhile because of the relationships we are building with people in the city.
I have decided to try to buy a folding bicycle to make getting around the city easier. There were four bicycle stores that I had researched on the internet that I wanted to visit. We plotted the stores on Google maps and threw in a castle that we have been wanting to tour. The route came out to be a beautiful little oval. Google maps said we could walk the entire route in 3 hours and 30 minutes. Having decided which order our stops would be, and with the addresses all entered into the GPS, we headed off to the Metro. When we came out of the Metro and headed to the tram stop for the next part of the trip, we found the tram was just pulling away from the stop as we dashed across the busy street against a red light. Looking at the schedule, we decided to head off walking since the next tram was not due for another 15 minutes. We were almost to the first bicycle shop when the tram passed us. When we came out of the shop we got on the next tram to continue to our next destination. Now some trams have screens on them, displaying what stop is coming up next. This was an older tram that did not. The tram was very crowded, and since I am very tall I could not see out the windows to try to read the signs on the tram stops as we passed by. The GPS was helping to let me know where we were, but after we had been on the tram for a few minutes, it lost its position through the metal roof. Finally, after Elizabeth squeezed by a few people to look at a map on the tram wall, we decided we should get off the tram. When we started looking at the map at the tram stop, we discovered we had gone several stops past where we needed to be. So we crossed the street and waited several minutes for the next tram to take us back in the direction we had just come. This got us close to our next shop but by now, we desperately needed to find a restroom and since it was past lunch time we stopped at a little Greek cafe for some salad (and the restroom). We ended up cutting our shopping trip short, only visiting 2 of the 4 shops, and deciding to leave the castle for another day. After another tram ride we made it to a Metro stop which took us back home - exhausted.
Even though we are living in an environment that is very foreign to two people who grew up in rural areas and have lived most of our married life in suburban areas, we are learning to get around the city with public transportation. We find it all worthwhile because of the relationships we are building with people in the city.
2 comments:
great post...i totally remember feeling this frustration when i've traveled abroad. wow. praying for you guys- hope to see you in august.
Thank you for this post. Really lets all of us at home see what life is like for you both. Thankful for the seeds you are planting.
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